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Does your car smell like pancake syrup?

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Over the years we’ve had customers mention that their car smells like pancake syrup.  Unfortunately, that might be a problem.

If your car smells sweet like pancake syrup, it is probably due to your antifreeze coolant that circulates in your car’s heater and/or defroster.

Inside your car is a heater / defroster that has antifreeze coolant circulating throughout.  When that heater core gets a leak (usually pinhole size), the coolant make the sweet smell like syrup.

Look for these other related symptoms:

  • You may find that your inside windshield also has a sticky film after using the defroster.
  • You may also find a wet spot on your carpet with the same sweet smell.
  • You may also find that your heater’s ability to warm has diminished.

The smell OUTSIDE the car

Sometimes you may smell that same syrup smell outside of your car.  That most likely means that your coolant antifreeze is leaking somewhere in the engine compartment.

Get it checked out!

If you experience any or all of the above symptoms, it is important to have it checked out.  Coolant leaks can lead to major engine damage.  It is much better the catch it before things get worse.